Jerusalem (AsiaNews/Agencies) - The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) hit areas in southern Lebanon following a Hizbollah attack in which an IDF vehicle was hit, wounding six soldiers, this according to unnamed IDF sources.
Lebanese media reported that Israel fired at least 25 artillery shells into Lebanon, targeting the border villages of Majidiyeh, Abbasiyeh and Kfar Chouba, near the Shebaa Farms area.
The two sides trade fire well into the afternoon. Hizbollah claimed responsibility for all of the attacks. According to some reports, a Spanish peacekeeper was injured near Abbasiyeh.
Yesterday's violence marks an escalation. It follows an Israeli airstrike on 18 January against a Hizbollah convoy in Quneitra, in Syria's Golan Heights, which killed six Hizbollah militants and an Iranian general.
In its reprisal, Hizbollah targeted nine vehicles, killing "a large number" of troops, the group's Al-Manar TV said.
For their part, Syrian opposition groups said this morning that the overnight Israeli strikes targeted two bases belonging to the Syrian military in the Quneitra region, and one near the Damascus international airport.